LAS VEGAS—Smartwatches and activity trackers for every purpose and every audience are popping up at CES. Fashionistas, gym rats, and everyone in between has something to look forward to later this year, including doting parents.

Though I'm not the target demographic—I don't have kids, nor am I a kid—I checked out the Alcatel OneTouch Caretime watch at CES, a tracker that, er, tracks kids. For busy moms and dads who can't, but want, to keep tabs on their child every hour of the day, this GPS-enabled smartwatch could be a godsend.

With a Fisher Price-like aesthetic, it's squarely obvious this is not your typical smartwatch. But even though it looks like a kid's toy, it doesn't feel like one. It uses the same silicon rubber as countless activity trackers and smartwatch bands. It also sports some rather mature features, like a 2G network, GPS, and Wi-Fi. Of course, these capabilities are for parents to better control who their children talk to. CareTime can only store 10 contact numbers, which need to be programmed in by an adult. Kids can place outgoing calls, but only to approved contacts, which also need to be customized by a parent.

CareTime can do a number of other useful things, too, like send out SOS alerts to a parent's phone, or ping a parent when a child returns home. It's also water-resistance rated at IP65 so kids are free to splash around in puddles on the way to or from school. Really worried parents can view their child's movements on a Google Maps-like smartphone app, complete with a pinpoint icon with a profile pic in it traveling through city streets.

This all sounds like hardcore surveillance, but a spoonful of sugar should help the Orwellian tracking go down. The 0.95-inch, 96-by-64-pixel resolution monochrome OLED sounds ancient, but it's actually quite charming in an old Game Boy or Tamagotchi-like way. Kids ought to like it, especially when animated icons representing mom or dad pop up on the screen. Two buttons on the left, and two on the right—one in each corner—provide a decent amount of tactile feedback. They also control the watch by initiating calls, displaying the time or daily step goal (children need their exercise), or opening a list of contacts.

Rounding out the design and availability options, the CareTime weighs 1.41 ounces, so it's very lightweight. It comes in multiple kid-friendly color combinations, including blue and yellow, green and pink, and blue and red. There is no release or pricing info, but GPS, Wi-Fi, and 2G connectivity likely won't come cheap.

About the Author

Timothy Torres is a Junior Analyst on PCMag's consumer electronics team. He covers wearables, digital home, and various cool gadgets including the occasional video game. He has written all manner of copy for Computer Shopper, The Jersey Journal, Radio One, Random House, and 2D-X. Before entering the tech world, he attended New York University and w... See Full Bio

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